G.O.P. Figure In Suffolk Is Convicted

By JOHN T. McQUISTON

Published: December 3, 1999

UNIONDALE, N.Y., Dec. 2—
John Powell, a former leader of the Suffolk County Republican Party who was once seen as a rising star in the state party, was found guilty of conspiracy and extortion in a landfill scandal this evening by a federal jury.

Mr. Powell, 39, appeared stunned as the jury foreman read the verdict here in Federal District Court after two full days of deliberations. Mr. Powell's wife, Linda, who sat behind him in the courtroom, broke into tears.

His co-defendant, Dominic Testa, who was accused of witness tampering, was acquitted.

Judge Jacob Mishler said Mr. Powell could remain free on bail and set his sentencing for Feb. 2. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, but is expected to receive much less time under federal sentencing guidelines. Mr. Powell also still faces charges in a separate indictment for his alleged part in a truck-theft scheme.

The jurors, who had deliberated for two days before announcing at 6:30 p.m. that they had reached a verdict, quickly left the courthouse, choosing not to comment on the trial, which lasted for nearly three weeks, or on the reasons for their verdict.

They found Mr. Powell guilty of taking $20,000 in bribes from a trucking company owner, Michael Cholowsky, in 10 monthly payments in exchange for preferred access to the Town of Brookhaven landfill.

The verdict was the culmination of a long slide for Mr. Powell, who came to statewide notice in 1994 as the first major Suffolk Republican to back George E. Pataki in his first bid for governor. He later helped to deliver a resounding plurality for Mr. Pataki in Suffolk County and was mentioned as a candidate for state party chairman.

But his political fortunes slipped as he was accused of running Suffolk County with a stern hand. And the charges against him forced his resignation last December.

Mr. Cholowsky and the manager of the Brookhaven landfill, Joseph Lipiensky, who had both pleaded guilty to extortion, appeared as cooperating witnesses for the federal government in exchange for leniency. Both men wore recording devices during an investigation at the landfill, following the instructions of agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and produced numerous tape recordings of conversations, some including Mr. Powell, as evidence.

The defense heatedly argued throughout the trial that there was nothing on any of the tapes to warrant Mr. Powell's conviction. Mr. Powell's defense lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, argued that both Mr. Cholowsky and Mr. Lipiensky lied on the tapes and lied to federal agents just to please investigators.

The prosecution, meanwhile, was able to use the recordings to convince the jury that Mr. Powell had played a leading role in the extortion scheme at the landfill and that Mr. Powell used the landfill as his own private domain to collect kickbacks.

''He was a 900-pound gorilla that everyone wanted on their side of the table,'' the federal prosecutor, George Stamboulidis, told the jury. ''He used the landfill and his political power to corrupt the employees at the landfill and carters who dumped at the landfill.''

On leaving the courthouse this evening, Mr. Stamboulidis, an assistant United States attorney, said the testimony from the two witnesses and some of Mr. Powell's own statements on the F.B.I. tapes were the key elements that produced the conviction.

Mr. Powell, on leaving the courthouse, said he was ''obviously disappointed'' by the jury's verdict and said the he was convinced that because he was a politician he could not expect to get a fair trial.

''I had my day in court and I learned one thing today -- that innocent people do get convicted and go to jail,'' he said. ''When you're a high-profile figure, things can happen to you that you don't expect.''

He said he would be heading straight home from the courthouse so he could explain his conviction to his three children, who range in age from 6 to 15.

Mr. Powell still faces charges in a separate indictment alleging he participated in a stolen truck and truck-parts scheme. His lawyer, Mr. Brafman, declined to discuss the case or whether Mr. Powell had yet decided to appeal tonight's verdict. ''It's just to early to comment on any of these matters,'' Mr. Brafman said.

After delivering its verdict on Mr. Powell, the same jury found his co-defendant, Mr. Testa, a landfill engineer, not guilty of jury tampering. Mr. Testa had been charged with attempting to get a key government witness to change his testimony.

The jury spent much of today having the charges against Mr. Testa reread, and at one point appeared to be almost deadlocked. Jurors chose to continue to deliberate beyond the usual 5 p.m. closing of the courthouse and reported back an hour and a half later that they had reached a verdict.

On leaving the courthouse, Mr. Testa's lawyer, Joel Weiss, declined to comment on the conviction of Mr. Powell. He said in a brief statement, '' Dominic and I are grateful and want to thank the jury for giving him a fair trial.'' Mr. Testa left without commenting.

Another man suspected in the case, Joseph Provenzano, a hauler, pleaded guilty in August to 17 counts, including involvement in an extortion scheme at the landfill, witness tampering, racketeering and involvement in the stolen truck and parts operation. He refused to testify against Mr. Powell, insisting that Mr. Powell had not been involved in any criminal wrongdoing.

Throughout the trial, scores of Mr. Powell's supporters filled the courtroom. When they heard the verdict this evening, a silence fell across the courtroom, as if a wake were in process. Eyes filled with tears, including those of Mr. Powell's wife, whom he appointed to succeed him at his $90,000-a-year job as the Republican deputy elections commissioner; his brother, George, a supervisor at the Suffolk County Water Authority, and his mother, Theresa Powell, deputy public administrator of Suffolk County's Surrogate Court.